The story of their inspiration is personal, says Suzanne Lane Bandanza who along with her brothers, Christopher Lane and Jack Lane, runs the home heating company. Their lives have all been touched by cancer and they feel strongly about supporting the kind of high-quality care their family members have received at the Mass General Cancer Center.

As a young mother, Mrs. Bandanza helped her husband, Jim Bandanza, through several years of successful treatment for cancer at Mass General. Mr. Bandanza is now COO of an internet security firm. Next, she and her siblings tended to their father, Kerivan-Lane President John R. Lane, during his treatments at Mass General for liver cancer. He passed away in 1999. Her brother, Jack Lane, was successfully treated for bladder cancer at Mass General and, last fall, the Bandanzas saw Jim’s mother, Shirley Bandanza, succumb to pancreatic cancer.

“We want people to know there is a need,” Mrs. Bandanza says. “In order to keep the best researchers and the best doctors here, you have to get involved and raise funds for research and patient care.“

From left, Briana Lane with her aunt, Suzanne Bandanza, and sister, Meghan Lane

Small Company with a Big Heart

Tapping the considerable energy born of running their own business, the Bandanzas and Lanes now run an annual fundraising effort that connects their network of business associates, customers and personal friends to the Mass General Cancer Center and its fundraising and awareness program known as the one hundred.

The one hundred annually honors 100 individuals and groups who have made a difference in the fight against cancer. This year, the one hundred raised $1.8 million to support research and patient care at the Mass General Cancer Center. Suzanne and Jim Bandanza have been members of the one hundred committee for seven years.

“Through the generosity of corporate partners like Kerivan-Lane, we are able to move the needle forward in some of the most urgent and promising areas of cancer research.”

“Through the generosity of corporate partners like Kerivan-Lane, we are able to move the needle forward in some of the most urgent and promising areas of cancer research,” says Cancer Center Director Daniel Haber, MD, PhD. Citing as examples, early-detection technologies, genetically-targeted therapies and immunotherapies, he adds, “Not only does their sponsorship provide vital resources for research and patient care, it also helps raise awareness for our efforts. We are incredibly grateful for their support.”

Convinced of Quality

Nearly 100 years old, Kerivan-Lane was purchased by Harvard-educated plumber John R. Lane in 1954 from his aunt, Sadie Kerivan. John and his wife, Grace, had five children- Katherine, Jack, Deborah, Christopher, and Suzanne- three of whom joined John in running the company. Mr. Lane’s relationship with Mass General began with his gastroenterologist, Jules Dienstag, MD, when he was diagnosed with hemochromatosis, an iron disorder that raises cancer risk. The level of exceptional care he received for over a decade at Mass General led him to refer friends and family without hesitation.

When Mr. Bandanza was diagnosed with cancer in 1992, his father-in-law, Mr. Lane, was instrumental in convincing him that Mass General was the best place to be treated.

“My father practically forced Jim to go to Mass General,” Mrs. Bandanza recalls. Following treatment and regular checkups with MGH oncologist Donald Kaufman, MD, Mr. Bandanza is now in good health.

Dr. Kaufman invited the Bandanzas to attend the one hundred. They never looked back, serving on the committee, sending out emails, social media posts and recruiting Kerivan-Lane to support the Mass General Cancer Center.

Curing Cancer as Company Goal

Customers “appreciate the fact that we are involved in something other than selling propane. That we are involved in the community and in humanity.”

At Kerivan-Lane, it is indeed a family affair as members of the younger generation, now in their 20s, work in office cubicles in the Needham headquarters.

“They’re all redheads,” says Mrs. Bandanza of her daughter, Lane, and Chris’ three daughters, Meghan, Briana, and Genevieve. All of them attend the one hundred with their parents and help with the company’s outreach effort. “If you see a mob of redheads at next year’s event, say ‘Hello.’” Mrs. Bandanza says.

Planning is underway now to set up a new fundraising page through Mass General’s community fundraising program. “Mass General makes it easy. They really help you with everything,” Mrs. Bandanza says. Facebook and Twitter posts, LinkedIn posts, a printed newsletter and email blasts are all part of the strategy.

Asked how their customers and business associates respond to being recruited into the fundraising effort, Christopher Lane says, “They appreciate the fact that we are involved in something other than selling propane. That we are involved in the community and in humanity.”

For more information about corporate fundraising or to support the Mass General Cancer Center, please contact us.

Mass General is grateful for the support of its supporters, but it does not endorse their products or services.